Dear Zack:

“I’ve been donating to charities/ funds and been spreading the word about injustice.. I’m glad that I did something, instead of just sitting back and hoping things get better”- I am glad too, and thank you for doing something to help other people.

“I could give away all my money.. and still nothing would change?.. I’m powerless to make any meaningful difference, and I feel selfish just looking at all the things I have”-

* It is better to do nothing than to do something that hurts other people.

* It is better to do something that helps other people, even if it is a small something that helps just one person, than to do nothing. It is better for the person you help, and it is better for you because you get to feel that you are making a difference. Be modest about how much you can help others and appreciate the little helpful difference that you can make.

“Not everybody gets.. a house to live under, good food to eat… What did I do to deserve any of it while people who are probably much kinder and have more potential don’t get to?”

* Our world is mostly not a just world; it is mostly not a fair world where good people get to enjoy the rewards for their good deeds and bad people get to suffer the consequences for their bad deeds (and therefore, get motivated to change). You having a house to live in and food to eat is  not about you deserving these things (no god entity administering justice and fairness in the world). It just so happens that you have these things. So enjoy the good things you have, best you can.

“I’ve always been an anxious sort; I worry a lot about things, and while I’ve moved past some of my self-harm tendencies and lashing out at people..”- I wonder if you think that you deserve to be anxious, and to worry and to be harmed?

anita